Strongly σ-donating N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have revived research interest in the catalytic chemistry of iron, and are now also starting to bring the photochemistry and photophysics of this abundant element into a new era. In this work, The efficient synthesis of a heteroleptic Fe(II) complex (1) is based on sequentially furnishing the Fe(II) center with the benchmark 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) ligand and the more strongly σ-donating mesoionic ligand, 4,4'-bis(1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene) (btz). Complex 1 was comprehensively characterized by electrochemistry, static and ultrafast spectroscopy, and quantum chemical calculations and compared to [Fe(bpy)3 ](PF6 )2 and (TBA)2 [Fe(bpy)(CN)4 ]. Heteroleptic complex 1 extends the absorption... (More)

Strongly σ-donating N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have revived research interest in the catalytic chemistry of iron, and are now also starting to bring the photochemistry and photophysics of this abundant element into a new era. In this work, The efficient synthesis of a heteroleptic Fe(II) complex (1) is based on sequentially furnishing the Fe(II) center with the benchmark 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) ligand and the more strongly σ-donating mesoionic ligand, 4,4'-bis(1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene) (btz). Complex 1 was comprehensively characterized by electrochemistry, static and ultrafast spectroscopy, and quantum chemical calculations and compared to [Fe(bpy)3 ](PF6 )2 and (TBA)2 [Fe(bpy)(CN)4 ]. Heteroleptic complex 1 extends the absorption spectrum towards longer wavelengths compared to a previously synthesized homoleptic Fe(II) NHC complex. The combination of the mesoionic nature of btz and the heteroleptic structure effectively destabilizes the metal-centered (MC) states relative to the triplet metal-to-ligand charge transfer ((3) MLCT) state in 1, rendering it a lifetime of 13 ps, the longest to date of a photochemically stable Fe(II) complex. Deactivation of the (3) MLCT state is proposed to proceed via the (3) MC state that strongly couples with the singlet ground state. (Less)

@article{3ed9a5f0-c307-4fd0-9bc2-e9a9cb0aef8c,
abstract = {Strongly σ-donating N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have revived research interest in the catalytic chemistry of iron, and are now also starting to bring the photochemistry and photophysics of this abundant element into a new era. In this work, The efficient synthesis of a heteroleptic Fe(II) complex (1) is based on sequentially furnishing the Fe(II) center with the benchmark 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) ligand and the more strongly σ-donating mesoionic ligand, 4,4'-bis(1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene) (btz). Complex 1 was comprehensively characterized by electrochemistry, static and ultrafast spectroscopy, and quantum chemical calculations and compared to [Fe(bpy)3 ](PF6 )2 and (TBA)2 [Fe(bpy)(CN)4 ]. Heteroleptic complex 1 extends the absorption spectrum towards longer wavelengths compared to a previously synthesized homoleptic Fe(II) NHC complex. The combination of the mesoionic nature of btz and the heteroleptic structure effectively destabilizes the metal-centered (MC) states relative to the triplet metal-to-ligand charge transfer ((3) MLCT) state in 1, rendering it a lifetime of 13 ps, the longest to date of a photochemically stable Fe(II) complex. Deactivation of the (3) MLCT state is proposed to proceed via the (3) MC state that strongly couples with the singlet ground state.},
author = {Liu, Yizhu and Kjaer, Kasper and Fredin, Lisa and Chabera, Pavel and Harlang, Tobias and Canton, Sophie and Lidin, Sven and Zhang, Jianxin and Lomoth, Reiner and Bergquist, Karl-Erik and Persson, Petter and Wärnmark, Kenneth and Sundström, Villy},
issn = {1521-3765},
language = {eng},
number = {9},
pages = {3628--3639},
publisher = {John Wiley & Sons},
series = {Chemistry: A European Journal},
title = {A Heteroleptic Ferrous Complex with Mesoionic Bis(1,2,3-triazol-5-ylidene) Ligands: Taming the MLCT Excited State of Iron(II).},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/chem.201405184},
volume = {21},
year = {2015},
}